J. H. Buß

Anisotropic electron spin relaxation in bulk GaN

Electron spin dynamics in n-type c-oriented wurtzite GaN epilayers is studied by time-resolved Kerr-rotation measurements at T=80 K. The electron spin lifetime shows a sudden increase if an external magnetic field is applied in the sample plane. This enhancement is explained by anisotropic Dyakonov–Perel spin relaxation in bulk GaN as a direct consequence of the anisotropy of spin-orbit coupling in semiconductors with wurtzite structure.

Long room-temperature electron spin lifetimes in highly doped cubic GaN

We report on very long electron spin relaxation times in highly n-doped bulk zincblende GaN exceeding 500 ps up to room-temperature. Time-resolved Kerr-rotation measurements show an almost temperature independent spin relaxation time between 80 and 295 K confirming an early prediction of Dyakonov and Perel for a degenerate electron gas.

Long electron spin coherence in ion‐implanted GaN: The role of localization

The impact of Ga and Au ion implantation on the electron spin dynamics in bulk wurtzite GaN is studied by time‐resolved Kerr‐rotation spectroscopy. The spin relaxation time increases strongly by up to a factor of 20 for increasing implantation doses. This drastic increase is caused by a transition from delocalized to localized electrons. We find a characteristic change in the magnetic field dependence of spin relaxation that can be used as a sensitive probe for the degree of localization.

High temperature electron spin dynamics in bulk cubic GaN: Nanosecond spin lifetimes far above room-temperature

The electron spin dynamics in n-doped bulk cubic GaN is investigated for very high temperatures from 293 K up to 500 K by time-resolved Kerr-rotation spectroscopy. We find extraordinarily long spin lifetimes exceeding 1 ns at 500 K. The temperature dependence of the spin relaxation time is in qualitative agreement with predictions of Dyakonov-Perel theory, while the absolute experimental times are an order of magnitude shorter than predicted. Possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed, including the role of phase mixtures of hexagonal and cubic GaN as well as the impact of localized carriers.

Temperature dependence of the electron Landé g-factor in cubic GaN

The temperature dependence of the electron Lande g-factor in bulk cubic GaN is investigated over an extremely broad temperature range from 15 K up to 500 K by time-resolved Kerr-rotation spectroscopy. The g-factor is found to be approximately constant over the full investigated temperature range. Calculations by k·p-theory predict a negligible temperature dependence g(T) in complete agreement with the experiment as a consequence of the large band-gap and small spin orbit splitting in cubic GaN.

Magneto-optical studies of Gd-implanted GaN: No spin alignment of conduction band electrons

Gd-implanted wurtzite GaN as a candidate for a ferromagnetic dilute magnetic semiconductor is investigated by time-resolved magneto-optical spectroscopy. We observe a strong increase of the electron spin lifetimes for increasing Gd doses, while the electron spin Larmor precession frequency is independent of the Gd concentration. These findings are well explained by carrier localization at defects and a negligible interaction with Gd ions. The data show that Gd-implanted GaN cannot be used for an electron spin aligner.

Strain dependent electron spin dynamics in bulk cubic GaN

The electron spin dynamics under variable uniaxial strain is investigated in bulk cubic GaN by time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr-rotation spectroscopy. Spin relaxation is found to be approximately independent of the applied strain, in complete agreement with estimates for Dyakonov-Perel spin relaxation. Our findings clearly exclude strain-induced relaxation as an effective mechanism for spin relaxation in cubic GaN.

Long room-temperature electron spin lifetimes in bulk cubic GaN

We report on very long electron spin lifetimes in cubic GaN measured by time-resolved Kerr-rotation-spectroscopy. The spin coherence times with and without external magnetic field exceed 500 ps at room temperature, despite a high n-type doping level of more than 1019 cm-3 in the bulk sample under investigation. Our findings are therefore highly relevant for spin optoelectronics in the blue wavelength regime. The spin lifetimes are found to be almost temperature independent in accord with a prediction for degenerate electron gases of Dyakonov and Perel from 1972. These results are discussed also in comparison to wurtzite GaN, which shows much shorter spin lifetimes and a dependence of spin lifetimes on the spin orientation.